I have been sitting here reading all your comments to Frankowes concerning his student loans that defaulted. There is a lot of stuff there I never knew about. I think it is too late for me, but I would like to know if I really screwed up. My son had some loans with Plato education loans. He attempted to defer them. It took about four months for them to process the deferment and then they turned him down. During the four months, they told me and my son that no payments were due. When they turned him down for the deferment, they immediately turned it over to a collection agency who called me, the cosigner, because I had money and my son had none. That was before I began reading this board. He scared me into believing a lawsuit would be filed the next day which would destroy my credit. The only way out was to pay the loan in full, plus $2,000 in collection and attorney fees, immediately. I fell for it and put it on a credit card. Now I realize he was lying. But, was there a way to rehabilitate a Plato loan? If so, were they under any obligation to tell me? Part of the deal was that there would be nothing negative on my credit reports. Well, they lied. They showed it as a default and never showed it as paid. It took four months to get it off my credit reports. The problem I had with Plato was that the phone reps were untrained and tended to say whatever they thought you wanted to hear. Apparently there is a woman who knows all the answers, but she will not take phone calls and will not respond to mail. Your comments please. How bad was I screwed?
I know Plato has a bad reputation. My guess is that you got screwed but I don't know for sure. Can anyone else offer an opinion or some help?
I don't think Plato loans are federally guaranteed, but I could be wrong. I think they're just "personal loans" for educational purposes. Yes, you got screwed, but you are lucky that the amount was so very small and that you were able to get it off your credit report. If it is any consolation, many people have had forbearance/deferment issues with federal student loan servicers (i.e. USA Group and Sallie Mae) who labeled their loans late on the credit reports and in default. I think Roni had loans that were in deferment but somehow got defaulted through no fault of her own. It's a scary, unregulated world out there in student loan land.
Thanks for your reply. The collection agency said they were part of Wells Fargo Bank. He said Plato was also. Does anyone know?
